On Valentine’s Day, indie rock band The Molds released their long-anticipated new song after a drastic stylistic and line-up change. However, this is not a regular single release, but a collaboration between the group and Chinese lingerie brand Aimer. This unlikely team-up is a well-planned effort, with the Valentine’s track aptly titled “伙伴” (lit. partner).
Rewind a month, on 14 January, Aimer announced that it would collaborate with the band on a song. What’s more, it will be a group effort as the brand called upon its followers on Weibo, China’s Twitter equivalent, to co-create the song by sharing stories. The theme is “in sync” (同频, lit. in the same frequency). A teaser video was released on 19 Jan, showing the band performing the new track to an audience of Aimer fans, or “Friends of Aimer”, each telling their own stories of “in sync” with their significant other. The band are seen rocking Aimer pyjamas and loungewear for the show.
The full video for the song was released on 14 February. It features shadows and silhouettes of the Friends with their other halves doing everyday things or spending quality time together. On Weibo, the topic “Love is when in sync” (#爱在同频时#) garnered 3.46 million views. A vinyl record of the single will be released on 20 May, the “520” festival.
The Molds was formed in the burgeoning Beijing indie scene in the late 2000s by veteran punk rocker Liu Ge, who remains the only constant member of the band’s various incarnations. Without participating in variety shows or playing many festivals, the band has been keeping a relatively low profile but it gradually developed a cult following. Recently the band’s rockier alter ego, The Bad Molds, also earned a collaboration with American guitar maker Fender with a short film.
Established 1993, Aimer has been a steady player in Chinese lingerie, underwear and loungewear sector. In the first three quarters of 2023, the company saw a 1.13% rise in revenue at 2.48 billion RMB (348.55 million USD) and a 32.25% increase in profit, at 229 million RMB (32.18 million USD). The brand has been investing heavily in marketing and advertisement, winning a slew of awards in recent years, including the Great Wall Award at the China International Advertisement Festival last year for its 30th anniversary short film.
With the new music video, Aimer harnesses the coolness of the underground band with a sweet love song co-created with the participation of its customer community. Meanwhile, the band gets its overdue attention from the mainstream, even more than its Fender gig. Along with The Big Band veterans, it would seem that other indie bands are also getting the spotlight from brands trying to leverage the booming rock and live music industry.
